Planning in the problem-based classroom, 1st Australian ed.

Planning in the problem-based classroom, 1st Australian ed.

Designing an inquiry-based lesson that engages students in problem solving looks quite different from a traditional lesson that follows an ‘explain, then practice’ pattern. The proficiency strands of problem-solving, reasoning and understanding not developed in a lecture-style lesson. In contrast, in classrooms where learning is assumed to be a complex process and where inquiry and problem solving are emphasised, lessons make use of worthwhile tasks that challenge students’ thinking and involve them in communicating and justifying their ideas. Preparing a lesson shifts from preparing an agenda of what will happen to creating a ‘thought experiment’ to consider what might happen (Davis, Sumara, & Luce-Kapler, 2008). The three-phase lesson format discussed in this chapter and the process for preparing such a lesson are intended to support the creation of lessons that support mathematical inquiry.